ABSTRACT
This chapter presents two observations that have implications for the application of one finding to educational practice: elementary school children are deeply sensitive observers of their school reality, and a behavioral perspective dominated the field. It looks to identify discrete teaching behaviors that communicated differential expectations and one taught teachers to equalize their treatment of students. Elementary school-aged children provided independent ratings of the frequency of differential behaviors by teachers toward an imaginary high- or low-expectation student, with the difference score reflecting the degree of differential treatment perceived. An examination of teacher expectancy effects across school years has also identified contextual factors, such as the home environment and successive teachers that interact with expectancy effects. A talent-development culture in classrooms and schools can be taught or created. The aligned synergy between these instructional elements created equitable and talent-development cultures or differentiated and talent-selection cultures.
